–Volume9(Par3)
Author: Fafu
Translator : Gemini
Dear Dharma Friends,Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we will continue our deep exploration of the Fifty Skandha-Daimons section in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.
I. A Continuation on the Form Skandha:
As a supplement to the previous discussion, remember that during the process of breaking the Form Skandha, various wonderful and auspicious states may appear, such as:
- The mountains and rivers in the ten directions all transform into Buddha Lands, fully endowed with seven treasures and pervading luminosity.
- Suddenly, in the middle of the night, one remotely sees the markets, streets, and relatives in distant places, or hears their conversations.
- The Celestial Maras may impersonate a Good Knowledge Advisor to entice the practitioner.
The Buddha warns that if the practitioner “takes it as a Holy mind”—that is, self-righteously believing they have become a Saint—upon the appearance of any of these states, they will immediately “be afflicted by evil forces” and come under attack.
II. Breaking the Feeling Skandha:
First, let us understand the “Sphere of the Feeling Skandha”. When the Form Skandha is shattered, the practitioner enters the phase of breaking the Feeling Skandha, where they “obtain great radiance.” The light of the mind manifests, illuminating everything. In this process, various states of delusion arise:
1. Mara of Sorrow/Compassion:
- The Phenomenon: In Samādhi, the practitioner gives rise to boundless sorrow, even shedding tears out of pity for mosquitoes and insects.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Sorrow enters the mind. Upon seeing people, one weeps without limit, leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
- Note: True Proper Samādhi means being fully endowed with all the virtuous states of the Buddha.
2. Mara of Madness/Brave Thought:
- The Phenomenon: One gives rise to boundless bravery, with aspirations equal to the Buddhas, believing that the cultivation spanning three asaṃkhyeya kalpas can be “transcended in a single thought.”
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Madness enters the mind. One becomes wildly arrogant, belittling the Buddhas and all ordinary beings, leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
3. Mara of Memory/Musing:
- The Phenomenon: Wisdom power declines, and one enters the “Ground of Decay”, becoming foolish. This is a state of “losing wisdom, a state of stubborn emptiness.”
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Memory enters the mind, causing one to constantly muse and recall the past all day long, leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
4. Mara of Inferiority and Easy Contentment:
- The Phenomenon: Wisdom power surpasses Samādhi power. The practitioner holds the supreme Self-Nature within the mind and suspects they are the Buddha Vairocana, being satisfied with small gains. They become drowned in their limited knowledge and views.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Inferiority and Easy Contentment enters the mind. One claims to have attained the Unsurpassed First Truth, even slandering the Buddha’s other immeasurable merits, leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
5. Mara of Constant Worry:
- The Phenomenon: The practitioner feels a new attainment has not been achieved, so the mind is disheartened. One generates boundless sorrow and worry about practice, feeling like one is sitting on an iron bed or drinking poison, even asking others to take one’s life for liberation. This is caused by “a loss of skillful means”, or using incorrect methods.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Constant Worry enters the mind, leading to self-mutilation or retreat into the mountains, unable to bear the sight of people, ultimately leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
6. Mara of Excessive Joy:
- The Phenomenon: In the midst of purity and peace, the practitioner suddenly generates boundless joy. The heart is elated and cannot be stopped. This is known as “light ease”
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Excessive Joy enters the mind, leading to uncontrolled behavior, such as singing and dancing in the street, believing one has attained unhindered liberation, ultimately leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
7. Mara of Great Arrogance:
- The Phenomenon: The practitioner feels self-satisfied and suddenly gives rise to unwarranted Great Arrogance. One even despises the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, let alone Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Great Arrogance enters the mind, causing one to neglect prostrating before stupas and temples, destroy scriptures and images, and mislead sentient beings into the Uninterrupted Hell, ultimately leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
8. Mara of Craving Lightness and Purity (Claiming Sainthood):
- The Phenomenon: Dwelling in the Self-Nature, the practitioner fully experiences the Self-Nature and achieves great compliance, suddenly generating boundless light ease. One claims to have become a Saint and attained great self-mastery.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Craving Lightness and Purity enters the mind, leading to complacency, stopping all further effort, becoming a “Bhikkhu without learning”, misleading sentient beings into the Avīci Hell, ultimately leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
9. Mara of Annihilationism/Emptiness:
- The Phenomenon: The practitioner perceives the luminous Self-Nature but suddenly inclines toward eternal cessation, believing everything is empty and denying cause and effect. One even gives rise to the wicked view of “long-term annihilation”. At this time, “Samādhi power is higher than Wisdom power.”
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Annihilationism enters the mind, causing one to slander the precepts, break the Buddha’s monastic rules, drink alcohol, eat meat, widely practice defilement, mislead sentient beings into committing evil karma, ultimately leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi and falling.
10. Mara of Lust/Desire:
- The Phenomenon: The practitioner deeply tastes the Feeling Skandha and suddenly generates boundless affection and lust. This love leads to extreme frenzy, which then generates greedy desires, wanting to perform acts of lust.
- The Fault: If one takes it as a Holy realization, the Mara of Lust enters the mind. One proclaims that sexual desire is the path to Bodhi, encouraging sexual misconduct and calling those who engage in it “Dharma-upholding disciples”. Ultimately, their dignity and virtue are completely lost, they incur legal punishment, mislead sentient beings into the Uninterrupted Hell, leading to the loss of Proper Samādhi.
III. Conclusion:
The core principle taught by the Buddha is: “If you awaken, there is no fault; it is not proof of sainthood. If you are aware and not deluded, they will naturally vanish over time.”
This sentence serves as the guiding principle for all ten manifestations. It warns us that when these phenomena appear in meditation, as long as we observe them with wisdom, understand that they are only a natural manifestation of the cultivation process, do not become self-righteous, do not regard them as having attained a holy fruit, do not cling, and are not deluded, then these phenomena will naturally subside over time. If one “takes it as a Holy realization”, the “Mara” will be invited into the mind, leading to the “loss of Proper Samādhi” and “falling into the cycle of transmigration.”
- Maintaining Proper Samādhi: The true goal is to maintain Proper Samādhi, which is “to be fully endowed with all the virtuous states of the Buddha,” not to pursue these temporary meditative phenomena.
- Balance of Samādhi and Wisdom: Practice should be the balanced development of Samādhi power and Wisdom power, avoiding the deviation where “Wisdom power surpasses Samādhi” or “Samādhi power is higher than Wisdom.”
- Solid Foundation: If the “previous foundation is not solidified, and one attempts secluded practice and Samādhi,” one is easily taken advantage of by the Maras.
May we all deeply understand these profound principles, maintain correct knowledge and views, not be turned by the environment, not be disturbed by the Maras, and ultimately achieve the Unsurpassed Buddha Way! Thank you all!
